I don't know why I didn't come across this during the Olympics in Shanghai but is is truly magnificent. You can get more details about the Seed Cathedral here. Each of the tubes has a seed in it.

P.S. I couldn't back trace the source of the photos!

Ellen's boat song

Good to know we all feel the same from time to time!

new year, old wishes

I met up with a few old friends during the holidays. It did feel like old times. We were laughing out loud before we even sat down. Nice break from the rigid few months we had all had before that. Just goes to show we hadn't lost it; we had lost each other.

I have had a few very busy years of growing, intense, rapid growing. I love the things I learnt and the ways I changed. But this year may of my resolutions have to do with going back and doing more of what used to make me happy, because they still do. I may even start writing regularly. It takes me to a calm place and that's always good in a year of transitions.

us

I miss intelligent conversations. I don't know why we just talk about daily nonsense. What happened to us all? Maybe I should start writing again ...

Haiti

I sat through an hour of Canada for Haiti and two hours of Hope For Haiti Now. I cried during most of it, but I didn't think it was right to turn off the TV. I couldn't close my eyes on their pain and suffering and pretend it wasn't happening. Besides, if you don't expose yourself to other people's pain your heart will grow hard and cold ...

P.S. since a few friends asked, I think the best place to donate if you are in Canada is Canada For Haiti especially since the government matches your donations.

برخورد با مخالفان

اگر مخالفان خود را به‌ پای چوبه‌ اعدام می کشانی ! بدان‌ صاحب عقلی هستی بسان طناب .

و اگر مخالفان خود را به‌ زندان می فرستی! بدان صاحب عقلی هستی بسان قفس .

و اگر با مخالفان خود به‌ جنگ درمی افتی! بدان صاحب عقلی هستی بسان چاقو .

و اما اگر با مخالفان خود به‌ بحث و گفتگو می پردازی و آنها را متقاعد می سازی و به‌ سخنان حق آنها قناعت می کنی! بدان صاحب عقلی هستی‌ بسان عقل

دکتر علی شریعتی -

در زمان خسرو پرویز

شنیدم در زمان خسرو پرویز گرفتند آدمی را توی تبریز

به جرم نقض قانون اساسی و بعض گفتمان های سیاسی

ولی آن مرد دور اندیش، از پیش قراری را نهاده با زن خویش

که از زندان اگر آمد زمانی به نام من پیامی یا نشانی

اگر خودکار آبی بود متنش بدان باشد درست و بی غل و غش

اگر با رنگ قرمز بود خودکار بدان باشد تمام از روی اجبار

تمامش از فشار بازجویی ست سراپایش دروغ و یاوه گویی ست

گذشت و روزی آمد نامه از مرد گرفت آن نامه را بانوی پر درد

گشود و دید با هال و مآبی نوشته شوهرش با خط آبی:

عزیزم، عشق من ، حالت چطور است؟ بگو بی بنده احوالت چطور است؟

اگر از ما بپرسی، خوب بشنو ملالی نیست غیر از دوری تو

من این جا راحتم، کیفور کیفور بساط عیش و عشرت جور وا جور

در این جا سینما و باشگاه است غذا، آجیل، میوه رو به راه است

کتک با چوب یا شلاق و باطوم تماما شایعاتی هست موهوم

هر آن کس گوید این جا چوب دار است بدان این هم دروغی شاخدار است

در این جا استرس جایی ندارد درفش و داغ معنایی ندارد

کجا تفتیش های اعتقادی ست؟ کجا سلول های انفرادی ست؟

همه این جا رفیق و دوست هستیم چو گردو داخل یک پوست هستیم

در این جا بازجو اصلن نداریم شکنجه ، اعتراف، عمرن نداریم

به جای آن اتاق فکر داریم روش های بدیع و بکر داریم

عزیزم، حال من خوب است این جا گذشت عمر، مطلوب است این جا

کسی را هیچ کاری با کسی نیست نشانی از غم و دلواپسی نیست

همه چیزش تمامن بیست این جا فقط خود کار قرمز نیست این جا

سبزی سرخ ما

خیلی وقته که چیزی ننوشتم. آخه چی بنویسم؟ این که انتخاباتی رو که اینهمه منتظرش شدیم ازمون گرفتن؟ این که کاری کردن که همه و همه بریزن تو خیابونا؟ یا اینکه چیزایی به روز مردمم آوردن که اگه توی یه فیلم وحشیانه می دیدم می گفتم این کارگردان چه شه؟

خیلی وقته دلم خیلی گرفته. یه خورده مریض شدم و گرفتار روزمرگی. ولی انگار عذاب وجدان از اینکه کاری از دستم برنمی آد از سرم نمی ره! با هر مقاله ای که می خونم همه تنم درد می گیره و صورتم خیس می شه. صورتم رو می شورم و سعی می کنم به روزمرگیم برگردم. ولی روحم انگار طوری شکنجه شده که دردش آروم نمی شه. به کسی هم که نمی شه چیزی گفت، هر کسی درد خودش رو داره.

به خودم هی می گم درستش می کنیم، اینها دردهای رشده. ولی می دونم که واسه همه شهیدها و زخمیها و زندانیها و خونواده هاشون و دوستاشون و یه جورایی همه ما این قیمت خیلی سنگین تری بود از آنچه می بایست بدیم. دلم ریش ریشه و دستم خالی

enough

I wish you enough sun to keep your attitude bright no matter how gray the day may appear.

I wish you enough rain to appreciate the sun even more.

I wish you enough happiness to keep your spirit alive and everlasting.

I wish you enough pain so that even the smallest of joys in life may appear bigger.

I wish you enough gain to satisfy your wanting.

I wish you enough loss to appreciate all that you possess.

I wish you enough hellos to get you through the final goodbye.

young and smart

The sign said something along the lines of:

Attention
to all young costumers:
If you are fed up with your parents,
move out and start earning your own money
and paying your own rent.
Do it fast, until you are young
and know everything.

time and time again

Time goes by so quickly that only an anniversary or a birthday or something that counts your years will remind you where you are in time. My old friends' visit last week took me back, wow I don't even want to admit, to 1998 when I first entered university. I had to count and count again on my fingers to believe that it's been 11 years!
And then we had the first 30th birthday last week to kick start the many 30th birthdays we will be celebrating this year. What reminded me of all this was that yesterday was the 3 year anniversary of this blog; so if you count دختر آفتاب I've had a personal blog for 4 years now. It's still all just numbers to me and I will need more time to absorb that 11, 30 and 4 are the number of years and not months associated with things in my life ...

you

Happiness keeps you sweet
Trials keep you strong
Sorrows keep you human
Life keeps you humble ...

understanding

I always thought technology moves too fast for us to deeply understand its consequences and implications. A good illustration is the new virtual tunnel with one end in London and the other in New York. The people on either side could connect with a random person on the other side with windows chat, gmail chat, skype or another of the hundreds of channels available. They have all probably seen it done more than once on a TV interview or news report. And yet it fascinates them when it's set up on the street ...

vulnerable

Einstein

meat munchers

The federal study of more than half a million men and women bolsters prior evidence of the health risks of diets laden with red meat like hamburger and processed meats like hot dogs, bacon and cold cuts.

Calling the increased risk modest, lead author Rashmi Sinha of the National Cancer Institute said the findings support the advice of several health groups to limit red and processed meat intake to decrease cancer risk.

The amount that is too much:

Over 10 years, eating the equivalent of a 125-gram (quarter-pound) hamburger daily gave men in the study a 22 per cent higher risk of dying of cancer and a 27 per cent higher risk of dying of heart disease. That's compared to those who ate the least red meat, just 140 grams per week.

Women who ate large amounts of red meat had a 20 per cent higher risk of dying of cancer and a 50 per cent higher risk of dying of heart disease than women who ate less.

But before you cut all meat out of your diet there are a few things you should be wary of. First of all the study was done on a group of 50 to 70-year-olds over a 10 year period and they relied on the person's memory of what they ate. Second, this conclusion can be drawn for people in that age group and not necessarily everyone. The recommendation is to replace some of the red meat in your diet with white meat such as chicken and fish - Happy Eating!

- source: abstract, full report

my angel

Remember those walls I built
Well, baby they're tumbling down
And they didn't even put up a fight
They didn't even make a sound

I found a way to let you in
But I never really had a doubt
Standing in the light of your halo
I got my angel now

It's like I've been awakened
Every rule I had you breakin'
It's the risk that I'm takin'
I ain't never gonna shut you out

Everywhere I'm looking now
I'm surrounded by your embrace
Baby I can see your halo
You know you're my saving grace

You're everything I need and more
It's written all over your face
Baby I can feel your halo
Pray it won't fade away

- Halo, Beyonce

نوبهار آمد

weatherwise

I told you there was no global warming; now they're saying it's probably just on hold. Excuses, excuses!

up to par

I got an email pointing me to this abstract. The work will be presented as a poster in the Recent Developments in Geodetic Theory (session G17) in the transactions of the European Geosciences Union General Assembly which will be held in Vienna, Austria, this April. I didn't believe it at first so I checked it from the European Geosciences Union website to make sure it's not a hoax, it's NOT! Now if this is the standard of work for people who are making statements about global warming, I don't know where to go for reliable information?!

If ...

If I had my life to live over, I would have talked less and listened more.

I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained and the sofa faded.

I would have eaten the popcorn in the 'good' living room and worried much less about the dirt when someone wanted to light a fire in the fireplace.

I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth.

I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day because my hair had just been teased and sprayed.

I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in storage.

I would have sat on the lawn with my children and not worried about grass stains.

I would have cried and laughed less while watching television - and more while watching life.

I would have shared more of the responsibility carried by my husband.

I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of pretending the earth would go into a holding pattern if I weren't there for the day.

I would never have bought anything just because it was practical, wouldn't show soil or was guaranteed to last a lifetime.

Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy, I'd have cherished every moment and realized that the wonderment growing inside me was the only chance in life to assist God in a miracle.

When my kids kissed me impetuously, I would never have said, "Later. Now go get washed up for dinner."

There would have been more "I love you's".. More "I'm sorrys" ...

But mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute... look at it and really see it ... live it...and never give it back.

- Erma Bombeck

the 7 wonders

Dr Richard Dawkins lists his 7 wonders of the world:

• spider webs
• bat's ears
• pianist's finger
  
• DNA
• parabolic reflector
• embryos
• David Attenborough
  

suicide and genes

From the study of 12 suicide victims who had been abused as children, 12 suicide victims who had not been traumatized and 12 people who died of other causes, a group at McGill have reached an outstanding conclusion. In the brain cells of suicide victims who had suffered severe sexual or physical abuse or neglect, the Montreal researchers found epigenetic markings in a gene that affects how a person reacts to stress.

Aside from the "suicide study" of people who have been abused, this research has a broader ramification. It shows that other than chemical exposures which were known to affect one's genes, social trauma can also be an influence.

Dr. John Strauss, a child psychiatrist at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto, said the McGill study is important because it brings to "psychiatric disorders a way of explaining potential gene-environment interactions."

The italic parts have been taken from this report on the study. The full article is published in the Nature Neuroscience and you can find it here.

fine fine print

Every once in a while I read the fine print on credit cards and such. You expect the usual, we are not responsible for this and that and that we can change the terms of agreement when we want to and we just need to notify you before or after we have done so; but of the ones I have read, this one is an eyeopener! This is a clause in the Customer Agreement for RBC online banking and credit card:

In no event, even if we are negligent, will we be liable for any loss of data, or any indirect, consequential, special, aggravated, punitive or exemplary damages whatsoever, in whole or in part, (including any business interruption, loss of profits, data, information, opportunity, revenues, goodwill or any other commercial or economic loss), caused to you, regardless of the cause of action, even if we have been advised of the possibility of such damages.

It would be interesting to see if it would actually holds up in court.

me and D

Last winter I had a rather hard time getting up in the mornings. As I mentioned before, this year I decided to take a 400IU pill a day from October to April. And now that the days are getting longer and brighter, I am more than happy to say I had no sluggish mornings and no midday train wrecks. I think it has done my body much good! I have to add that I do drink my 2 glasses a day of milk which is of course vitamin A&D fortified. I also eat cheese and keep a good balance of fruit and vegetables in my diet; plus I exercise regularly. It was just that during the darker months of the year I was lacking the vitamin D produced with sunshine in my body ...

I looked up a few fact about Seasonal Affective Disorder; mine was not that severe, but I think the same solutions helped me get over my winter blues.

According to Mental Health America, women suffer from SAD three times more often then men, as do those in colder climates and people who work for extended periods without sunlight or work the night shift.

The suggestions for getting over SAD are:

• get as much sunlight as possible
• take vitamin D
• exercise
  
• watch the carbs. as much as your body craves them, you should opt for healthier carbs like vegetables, whole grains, and fruits which will help keep you energized.
• keep up social interaction
• be nice to yourself

belief

"for those who believe, no proof is necessary ... for those who don't believe, no proof is possible."

- Stuart Chase

!برابرتر

مقاله "هر کس مي خواند به پنج نفر خبر دهد" از شيرين عبادی رو بخونین و به حال و وضع کشورمون فکر کنین!؟

only the poor

"Malaria is spread by mosquitoes," Gates said while opening a jar onstage at a gathering known to attract technology kings, politicians, and Hollywood stars. "I brought some. Here, I'll let them roam around. There is no reason only poor people should be infected."

That, of course, grabbed people's attention! I also like another remark he made in his speech:

"The market does not drive scientists, thinkers, or governments to do the right things. Only by paying attention and making people care can we make as much progress as we need to."

- source

directions

“It is a well-documented fact that guys will not ask for directions. This is a biological thing. This is why it takes several million sperm cells… to locate a female egg, despite the fact that the egg is, relative to them, the size of Wisconsin.”

- Dave Barry

check up

Dr Oz, Oprah's surgeon general, came up with a list of 10 things to do to keep your health in check. This is the list:

Step 1: Find a doctor and schedule a checkup

Step 2: Know the five ingredients to avoid

Step 3: The healthy foods to add to your diet

Step 4: Take a multivitamin every single day

Step 5: Know your numbers

Step 6: Find a health advocate

Step 7: Organize your medical records

Step 8: Get the medical tests you need

Step 9: Start exercising

Step 10: Get seven to eight hours of sleep a night

pop star president

After a day of excitement and a reception that brought out the "stars" of the entertainment world, the newly minted President of the United States went to work yesterday. And guess what he did on the first day on the job? He repeated the swearing in ceremony, which was of course the whole purpose of the inauguration!

Not to rain on anyone's parade, but while I was watching the ceremony I kept thinking they could have rehearsed this before. I'm just saying, seeing as there were millions of people watching someone could have put a little thought into what it's all for ... I hope this is not a sign of things to come!

The explanation was that since both he and the chief justice of the Supreme Court, John Roberts, tripped over their words, Mr Obama took the presidential oath for a second time “out of an abundance of caution”. This time around there was no Bible, but then the Bible is just for show and the oath has nothing to do with its presence.

It turns out that Obama isn't the first president to retake the oath. Chester Arthur and Calvin Coolidge also took the oath of office twice because of unusual circumstances. Arthur, was sworn in at his home in a private ceremony following the assassination of former president James Garfield. He was sworn in a second time two days later at the Capitol. Coolidge took the oath of office at his father's Vermont home following the death of former president Warren Harding. Coolidge's father was a justice of the peace and administered the oath. Concerns about the jurisdiction of Coolidge's father led to Coolidge taking a second oath later in Washington.

Now what do you think history will write down for Obama? His unusual circumstance was that too many people were watching and thus him and Justice Roberts were distracted! Or that he was just giggling to much! Maybe they'll say he was too young and thus too excited, who knows ...

- sources: The Economist, CBC, Getty Images

local ingredients

The get local website has a table that shows when fruit, vegetables, meat etc are in season in Vancouver. You can find it here.

plane crash

who knew?

Forbes released its list of unknown billionaires, you might want to have a look!

windfall

Billionaire Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. won a $224 million bet that Florida would escape major damage from hurricanes this year.

- source

I didn't even know that such bonds existed, but it only makes sense.

civility institute

I just think it's an interesting concept, here's the website.

recycling

After a long struggle it seems that Clorox, who owns Brita, has launched a program to recycle water filters in North America. An interesting point is that they had been recycling the filters in Europe for a while and it took so many petitions and such a long time to get it here. Anyhow, the press release on November 18th introduces two options for recycling the filters:

• Drop off: Through the Preserve Gimme 5 program, select Whole Foods Market stores will begin collecting No. 5 plastics and used Brita pitcher filters.
• Mail in: Consumers who wish to mail in used Brita pitcher filters are encouraged to package the filter in a small, used box and send it via ground shipping. The box will also be recycled by Preserve

The press release does not indicate whether or not recycling will be made available in Canada through Whole Food Market stores but I guess mailing the filters in is always an option. I will be keeping mine and collecting filters from whoever wants to hand them to me.

off the charts

This is Stephen Colbert's interview with Malcolm Gladwell the author of Outliers, the story of success, which I have yet to buy. He claims to have figures out the best year to be born in the 20th century if you want to become rich. Sorry, nothing we can do now!

to fight or not to fight

"When couples get together, one of their main jobs is reconciliation about conflict," Harburg said. "Usually nobody is trained to do this. If they have good parents, they can imitate, that's fine, but usually the couple is ignorant about the process of resolving conflict. The key matter is, when the conflict happens, how do you resolve it?"

The above is an exert from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor's news website, Newswise. Ernest Harburg is a professor emeritus with the School of Public Health and the Psychology Department at UoM and the lead author on the paper "Marital Pair Anger Coping Types May Act as an Entity to Affect Mortality: Preliminary Findings from a Prospective Study" which will appear in the Journal of Family Communications this month.

They report that in couples who do not fight, the likelihood of early death is twice as high! Now if that doesn't tell you that making your feelings known is a good thing, I don't see what does. You can find the article in Newswise here.

وقتی می آی

Albert Hall, London, 1987

Mis-use, Over-use and General Uselessness

"It's that time of year again!"

Lake Superior State University "maverick" word-watchers, fresh from the holiday "staycation" but without an economic "bailout" even after a "desperate search," have issued their 34th annual List of Words to Be Banished from the Queen's English for Mis-use, Over-use and General Uselessness. This year's list may be more "green" than any of the previous lists and includes words and phrases that people from "Wall Street to Main Street" say they love "not so much" and wish to have erased from their "carbon footprint."

- source

influences

We have always mocked how so much of our information about the world, animals and such comes from the programs we watched as children; but now that politicians are using their childhood learnings to discuss issues, it maybe time to reconsider our attitude!

I don't like forecasting, particularly if the future is involved.

- Yogi bear (quoted by Mitt Romney)

source of information

I went to see my podiatrist and this is, in concept, what it said on the cartoon picture on wall:

A few things you should know about your period:

1. it won't go away if you stand on your head
2. if you have 22 babies in 22 years you will avoid a lot of periods
3. if you go on vacation it will come with you
4. although PMS, GST and PST sound similar they are of very different nature

waterboarding

my two cents

It seems that a lot of people inside and outside the Liberal party agreed with me about the serious flaw in the leadership of the Liberal party. Yesterday, Dion finally did what he should have done after his defeat in the federal election and announced that he will step down once the Liberals have chosen a new leader.
But it's not that simple. New Brunswick MP, Dominic LeBlanc, has stepped down from the leadership race in support of Michael Ignatieff; but it seems that Bob Rae isn't being as kind or as thoughtful. He has been described as "bitter and angry" by other Liberal MPs. What surprises me is that Rae doesn't have much support either; personally I don't think he stands a chance. Ignatieff has been a favorite with both the MPs and party members for a while now. Whereas Rae, although well respected, has never had a strong endorsement from either group.
Anyway, I think it is in the interest of the Liberals, the coalition (which I am not sure will even make it until January) and maybe all Canadians to deal with this as soon as possible. Dragging it out can only give Harper the upper hand ...
This is Jon Stewart's take on the recent issues in Canada, eh!

state of mind

About 2pm on Sunday, unsuspectingly, we walked into a store on Davie. A woman about 50, thin, with light blue jeans and a not so stylish shirt and jacket, walked rapidly towards us and asked us in a very high pitched voice whether someone had referred us to the store and without pause followed that she has been in business since 1993. Silly me, I took it as a greeting and said: "no, we were just walking by."
As those words left my lips, her face grew tense and she started telling us how she dresses people and that people come from a long way away and that they make appointments ... and she didn't breathe! She talked faster and faster and grew more aggressive as she went on. We stood there with our eyes wide and our jaws hanging! I don't know how long that went on but it seemed an infinity.
As soon as she breathed to say that her store is not for looking around in, I turned to the door and reached to push it open. She yelled in her squeaky voice: "no, no, don't touch the door, I'll open it, you already jammed it!" Even if I had jammed it coming in, which I hadn't, she couldn't have known!
We walked out and away so shocked at what we had just witnessed that we couldn't even talk. We still haven't figured whether she was bipolar, high on drugs or just pure crazy and we couldn't even tell if she wanted us gone, wanted us to come back with an appointment or was looking for a specific reaction.
After getting something to eat we walked back to find the name of the shop. Believe me, she was walking out to slap me as I was looking for the name of the store on the window. And yes, I ran away before she got to the door!
It was reassuring to learn later that we weren't the only people who had encountered the crazy lady (apparently she's called Linda). I wonder how she is still in business! Oh, and the name of the store, State of Mind, how fitting!

a dose of sunshine

I have decided to start taking vitamin D. The general recommendation is for people in the lower mainland to take vitamin D supplements from October to April. In addition, ethnicity studies suggest that people with darker skin tones should take vitamin D supplements. So despite my resistance I am finally convinced! It hasn't been that long yet but I do feel a little more awake when I get up in the morning. Now whether that is psychological or it's really the effect of the pills I can't tell :)

Two related articles you may want to take a look at: sunshine vitamin, pregnant and lactating women and infants. The suggested intake for vitamin D is about 1000 IU per day. The table below gives some information about the sources of the sunshine vitamin.

Source: B.C. Ministry of Health
Food	Serving	Vitamin D
Milk	1 cup	100 IU
Fortified rice or soy beverage	1 cup	100 IU
Fortified margarine	2 tsp	53 IU
Salmon canned, pink	3 oz	530 IU
Tuna canned, light	3 0z	200 IU

حس آشنا

درست قبل از امتحان بود که یکی از بچه های ایرانی رو دیدم. گفتم می شه یه سوال بپرسم؟ با لبخند و خیلی مودب گفت: شما از من؟ و یه چیزی توی این مایه ها که آخه تو که خیلی خرخونی! اون موقع حواسم پرت بود و عجله داشتم، ولی بعدش که بهش فکر کردم نفهمیدم چرا اینقدر حرف به این سادگی حس آشنایی در من برانگیخته بود! چند ساعتی گذشته بود که دو هزاریم افتاد. این از اون حرفهایی بود که بچه ها توی مدرسه می زدن و سالها بود که کسی این حرف رو به من نزده بود! احساس دوران بچگی بود که اینقدر آشنا بود و حس برگشتن به اون موقع بود که من رو خوشحال کرده بود

torn

Yesterday, prime minister Harper asked the Governor General of Canada to prorogue parliament, despite the bad image it gives him. As he said, he was willing to take any legal measure to keep the government going. But on the other hand, in my opinion, the opposition coalition tried to stir things up a little too soon. I mean at the least the economic situation is tight and we just spent millions on an election!

Think of it, there's the Bloc Quebecois who basically supports mayhem and Harper just calls them the separatist although they have somewhat softened that tone. I can't say I disagree with him on that.
Then there is the NDP, who until yesterday were friends of the Conservatives and gave Harper the confidence of a majority government. I really don't understand Layton's move in getting with the coalition because he was a lot closer to Harper before and after the recent election and then he woke up on Wednesday and was buddies with Dion!
But the biggest and baddest of them all are the Liberals. I admired Paul Martin both as a minister and as the prime minister. When he stepped down there was no one to step into his position, the Liberals had no leader. On the other hand Steven Harper, despite the fact that I don't trust him, emerged as a strong leader. I think the quality of the televised messages from Harper and Dion (without even listening to the content) showed how much more organized and able the Conservatives are at this point in time.
The recent election showed the lowest level of Liberal support and of course everyone knew who was to blame. Now don't go blaming it on the accent, didn't everyone love Chrétien? It's his lack of leadership and his poor communication skills that repel people, even the Liberals themselves have admitted it time and time again. Dion is the type of guy you would put in charge of a museum, not a government.
So as far as the coalition goes, I don't support it at all. Two parties who have different objectives along with the separatist and no leader to pull them together isn't going to do Canada much good. Especially with the difficult financial situation we are facing. They might have had a chance if Dion was wise enough to let Layton lead. It goes without saying that I have never and will never approve of Harper and his politics, but right now he is the lesser of two evil.
All of this being said, suspending parliament seemed like a very extreme measure to me. My initial reaction was that Michaëlle Jean will not approve of it. After thinking about it a little more though it just seems very unconventional but most likely the correct move ... all of the controversy goes to show that even old Canada can stir things up a little. Now all we have to do is wait until the end of January to see what will become of Harper's government ...

diabetes cure?

Dr Mehran Anvari, McMaster University, is offering new hope to type 2 diabetes patients, especially those suffering from obesity. According to the article in Spec, a local Waterloo news website, 10% of people in Ontario suffer from diabetes. This is the posting for the study of Laparoscopic Bariatric surgery to treat type 2 diabetes in obese patients. The major concern is that the study is in its early stages and not all the side effects are known.

ballet

Today, Ballet British Columbia announced that they are laying off all the staff and dancers! What a shame! They are calling it a reorganization. The truth is that the dancers will either have to move away from Vancouver or find something temporary and hang around in hopes that it won't take them too long to get back into business. I think that's a big risk though and my guess is that the dancers who really care about their careers will move away ... if you live in Vancouver and haven't seen Nutcracker, I suggest you do it this year. Who knows if there will be a ballet any time soon in the city.

state of shock

Now I know I messed up bad
You were the best I ever had
I let you down in the worst way
It hurts me every single day
I'm dying to let you know

Now I'm here to say I'm sorry
And ask for a second chance
Cause when it all comes down to the end
I could sure use a friend

P.S. I know you will both be strong and make it through :)

right now

justice

I have always admired the great civilization of Egypt. I guess they owe their abundance, at least partially, to their long history. My envy is that as a society us Iranians come from a rich background too, but we have failed to hold ourselves to the same standards. I can't blame it on governments or systems because the Egyptians have had their fair share of corrupt leaders. I think it has more to do with our personal sense of belonging to the society and our willingness to fight for our human rights. I don't want to downplay the great men and women who have done so much for our country, but I'd like to draw attention to the moral values we may have given up on.
This is what triggered these thoughts in my mind again:

The student concluded that the government could do whatever it wanted - oppress, detain, torture, whatever - but if the judiciary was independent, then freedom had a chance in Egypt. Without these independent judges, there was no hope of protecting human rights.

- Amin Ashmawy (interview with Robin Wright)

This is a testament for truth's sake. If I did not record it, I would be accountable before God on the Day of Judgment. by what I write here, I do not intend to support or defame any party. It is merely a question of telling the truth, to which I have devoted my life, and to honor the justice that I have vowed to uphold.

- Noha al Zeiny, Al-Masri al-Youm newspaper, 2005 (Dreams and Shadows)

geeky humor

optimist: the glass is half full
pessimist: the glass is half empty
engineer: the glass needs to be redesigned

- Carl Selinger

me and her

It had been raining all night and now a little sunshine was coming through the clouds. I walked by a large window swiftly and took a quick glance at myself in the glass ... and ... I slowed down as I approached the next window ... and ... I WAS her ... I stood and looked at myself in the glass ... I looked like the person I had dreamed of being as a little girl. In the glass, I saw the image of a woman I had wanted to be ever since I was a child, and, now I AM her, I'M HER! By this time there was a big grin on my face ... me and my future image of me are one now ... I need a new vision ...

W, always a disappointment

We went to see the movie W. The only believable characters in the movie were Bush senior and junior. The rest of the movie was a mess; even the travels in time were a disaster. It had insignificant details highlighted and important events skimmed. I don't know what Stone was thinking but didn't it ever occur to him that the Bushs wouldn't be watching election reports on their home TV? All in all I would give it a mere 4 out of 10; just like W himself, a dissappointment!

professional profiling

According to a 2007 Oxford University publication by Gambetta and Hertog 78% of Jihadists are engineers ... I think it may be that the engineers are the dumb ones who get caught!

guess who?

If you guessed Sarah Palin then you're right! It's her Miss Wasilla 1984 head shot and one of the pictures for the Palin Calendar. The cover page is below and you can find all the pages here.

اوضاع و احوال

گفتم تفعلی بزنم؛

رایت سلطان گل پیدا شد از طرف چمن
مقدمش یارب مبارک باد بر سرو و سمن
...
مشورت با عقل کردم گفت حافظ باده نوش
ساقیا می ده بقول مستشار موتمن

و شاهدش

تو نازک طبعی و طاقت نداری
گرانیهای مشتی دلق پوشان
درین صوفی وشان دَردی ندیدم
که صافی باد عیش دُردنوشان

salaries

... with the current situation it seems 2008 will be the highest peak at least for some time ...

* source: IEEE Spectrum August 2008 and they got it from the US Department of Labor

greener clean

I've been trying out "greener" choices for cleaning supplies in the past few months. I've tested both brand name and drugstore labels. In my opinion the best dish washing liquids are [drum roll] Method by Method and Green Works by Clorox. Both claim to be naturally derived and biodegradable.
As for glass, bathroom and kitchen cleaners, once I got to the Green Works line of products I stopped checking because I was very please with what I had found and, well, I'm not a consumer product reviewer!
You might find the Greenzer website helpful if you're looking for a particular product, but keep your eyes open for the frauds ... maybe I should come up with a green-meter of some sort ...

اسلام و ایرانیان

اين مکر و ريا گشت به گوش همه ياران
اين حيله بشد باور يک ملت نادان

ای وای از اين قوم وازاين ملت بيمار
لعنت به سر گور امام زاده مکار

ايرانی که بود تاج سر دانش دنيا
اينک قمه بر سر زدنش خنده دنيا

زنجير به سرو سينه زدن در غم تازی
از شب به سحر در غم ودر گريه وزاری

شد سنت ايرانی پس از عمری شهامت
ای وای از آن قومی که شد خام ديانت
...
ايرانی بشد چاکر درگاه امامان
آن شيرزن خاک گهر پوش دلارا

شد زينب و زهرا و خديجه و سهيلا
از کوروش واز ايرج و کاوه و بابک

قربانعلی و غلامحسين آمده اينک
لعنت به من و ما که بيگانه ستائيم

پيشانی به سنگ در هر تازی بماليم
لعنت به من و ما که فرزند يلانيم

بيرونی بيگانه از اين خانه ندانيم
نفرين به چونين تيع که تيزش نتوانيم

لعنت به چونين دست که مشتش نتوانيم
اهريمن از اين خانه برون ما نتوانيم

اين ديو ستمکار از اين سفره نرانيم
لعنت به من و ما که خاموش نشستيم
که خاموش نشستيم

سیمین بهبهانی -

the Hamas point of view

Do you not find something very wrong with this sentence?

"We might forgive the Israeli's for murdering our innocent civilians but we will never forgive them for forcing us to kill their civilians."

- Sheikh Nayef (from Dreams and Shadows)

The later leaders were of course a lot more lenient.

Our message to the Israelis is this: we do not fight you because you belong to a certain faith or culture. Jews have lived in the Muslim world for 13 centuries in peace and harmony; they are in our religion "the people of the book" who have a covenant from God and His Messenger Muhammad (peace be upon him) to be respected and protected. Our conflict with you is not religious but political. We have no problem with Jews who have not attacked us - our problem is with those who came to our land, impose themselves on us by force, destroyed our society and banish our people.
We shall never recognize the right of any power to rob us of our land and deny us our national rights. We shall never recognize the legitimacy of a Zionist state created on our soil in order to atone for somebody else's problem. But if you are willing to accept the principle of a long-term truce, we are prepared to negotiate the terms. Hamas is extending a hand of peace to those who are truly interested in a peace based on justice.

- Khalid Mashal, 2006 (from Dreams and Shadows)

path to liberty

We are not expected to be transported from despotism to liberty in a featherbed.

- Thomas Jefferson

Judge Alex

As I was eating lunch today, the TV was showing one of the many reality court shows. I never really warmed up to Judge Judy, who is apparently the highest paid TV personality, but some other ones I can take ... but I digress ... The case was about a lady whose car had been stolen and totaled by the next door neighbor's son, well actually they had a teenage boy visiting from out of town who had apparently driven the scenario. The conversation was something like:

• Judge: well how did they break into the car?
• lady: the door was not locked. where we live we don't even have keys to our front doors, all the doors are open.
  
• Judge [with a smile]: in Florida the only reason you would leave your doors unlocked is that you want to shoot the thief inside the car! well how did they start the car then?
• lady: they turned the keys and started the car.
• Judge: so you had left the keys in the ignition?
• lady: yes, everyone does that. even the police officer who took my statement said he leaves his keys in the ignition when his car is in the driveway.

The judge looked amazed and so did I. But she was telling the truth; the defendant confirmed what she said. He admitted that he had asked his son where his cell phone was and the son had told him what they had done with the car and said that he'd left the phone in the car. A little into the trial she starts crying and when the judge asks why she replies: "well if car theft is their first crime what is their second crime going to be? break into someone's house and put a gun to their head?"
What they described and how they reacted to everything was like a fairytale. So far from reality in my mind! I grew up being told not to forget to lock the second lock on the door. I had heard stories of how my grandparents never had to lock the door but that was by far my closest encounter. Just think how much more tolerable our lives would be if we could just go back and live as peacefully ... I hope these people and their little towns don't go extinct any time soon. Maybe we should preserve them as treasures ...

politics

Politics is about getting outside of yourself and your own problems for a little while and fully immersing yourself in the lies and deceit of others.

- Stephen Elliot

Zoroastrians

I have started reading the book Dreams and Shadows by Robin Wright and I am going to share parts of it with you in the next little while:

"I once visited a fire temple of the Zoroastrians, who worship light as the symbol of good and omnipotent God. Iran is the world center for the faith founded six centuries before Christianity. As the symbol of light, fires at the altars of their temples have burned continuously for centuries. Zoroastrians ideas about the devil, hell, a future savior, the struggle between good and evil ending with a day of judgment, the resurrection of the dead, and an afterlife had great impact on all monotheistic faiths, and even Buddhism.
The largest Jewish population in the Middle East outside of Israel is also in Iran, ...."

giving

We make a living by what we get but we make a life by what we give.

-Winston Churchill

for the boys who never became men

so you can grieve and move on with life ... i am sorry that i can't be beside you in your pain ...

well in case you failed to notice
in case you failed to see
this is my heart bleeding before you
this is me down on my knees
these foolish games are tearing me apart
your thoughtless words are breaking my heart
you're breaking my heart

- Jewel, foolish games

فال شب مهتابی

کنار آب و پای بید و طبع شعر و یاری خوش
معاشر دلبری شیرین و ساقی گلعذاری خوش
الا ای دولتی طالع که قدر وقت می‌دانی
گوارا بادت این عشرت که داری روزگاری خوش
هر آن کس را که در خاطر ز عشق دلبری باریست
سپندی گو بر آتش نه که دارد کار و باری خوش
عروس طبع را زیور ز فکر بکر می‌بندم
بود کز دست ایامم به دست افتد نگاری خوش
شب صحبت غنیمت دان و داد خوشدلی بستان
که مهتابی دل افروز است و طرف لاله زاری خوش
چو می در کله جامست وساقی در نیامیزد
که مستی می‌کند با عقل و می‌بخشد خماری خوش
به غفلت عمر شد حافظ بیا با ما به میخانه
که شنگولان خوش باشت بیاموزند کاری خوش

harder times

I haven't been writing for a while and the reason, unfortunately, is mostly sad events rather than happy ones. I've been distracted, preoccupied and stressed. All of this being said, I should mention that the "situations", for the lack of a better word, I have been dealing with were mostly related to my loved ones rather than me. I don't mean to downplay their dealings with all of this but for my side, I guess, it just all came at the same time and took me by surprise.

I'd like to take a step back to the happy event before I think about the sad ones. We, as Sharif graduates, had our fifth international reunion in Vancouver. I was on the organizing committee and we hosted over 300 people. It all ran very smoothly. I learnt about the origin of the Sharif University of Technology Association (SUTA) and met a few of the people who had actually started the whole thing. We even had a surprise birthday on the last day ...

But the problems! Since it's people's personal matters it would probably be a better idea for me not to delve into them too deep. I'll just point to a few things.

I, for one, have never been that big a fan of marriage. It never quite made sense to me for someone to commit him/herself to someone for the rest of their life when they didn't know what the rest of their life would bring. You may say that it has worked for so many generations in the past, but that is exactly my point. That was in the past. In my opinion our parents were probably the last generation that could, as a society, live up to the old definitions of marriage. In today's world man and woman change so fast and independent from one another that they can easily evolve into very different beings with little commonality.

Now, my opinion is not meant as an invasion on the institution of family but more of a cry for the need to move around the boundaries and find something that would fit the mold of modern society. Just think of it this way, an average successful marriage in North America is estimated at around 5 years and we are promising our partners until death do us part! I would understand something along the lines of I promise to love and cherish you until the day we are happy and I will fight for being happy with you ...

Despite my pessimistic views towards traditional marriages, I was shocked to hear of so many of my friends having issues. I guess theorizing about matters and understanding them logically is far from accepting them emotionally. Some relationships have run their course, others are hanging by a thread and some are slowly working their way to getting stronger. At this point there is no saying where we will all be standing once the tide is gone, all I can hope for is that one day when they look back at this they can say I am pleased about the decisions I made ....

for the past

and I'm so sick of love songs
so tired of tears
so done with wishing you were still here
said I'm so sick of love songs so sad and slow
so why can't I turn off the radio?

- so sick, Ne-Yo

life

Give me books, fruit, french wine, fine weather, and a little music ...

- John Keats

fall for you

The best thing about tonight's that we're not fighting
Could it be that we have been this way before
I know you don't think that I am trying
I know you're wearing thin down to the core

But hold your breath
Because tonight will be the night that I will fall for you
Over again
Don't make me change my mind
Or I won't live to see another day
I swear it's true
Because a girl like you is impossible to find
Your impossible to find

This is not what I intended
I always swore to you I'd never fall apart
You always thought that I was stronger
I may have failed
But I have loved you from the start

- Secondhand Serenade

there

Beyond ideas of wrong doing and right doing, there's a field. I'll meet you there.

- Jalal al-Din Rumi, 13thC

taste

When you are exposed to a new flavor of food it is said that you can acquire a taste for it in an average of 10 tries. Now I am not that kind of a person to force myself into liking something, but throughout life my appetite has changed. I used to hate even the smell of olives and now I would kill for them; there are other examples when it comes to food too ...

And then there is another side to taste. I first started reading One Hundred Years of Solitude when I was about 15. I don't usually leave a book half read but this one just didn't give me enough incentive to go past page 50. A few months back I read Love in the Time of Cholera, which is also written by Gabriel García Márquez, and I loved it. This prompted me to think that I may have grown into his work and "developed a taste" for it.

So, I order One Hundred Years of Solitude with a bunch of other books. When they're shipped it's the second book of the pile I start reading ... and ... it was still the same. Nothing had changed for me. It was still as distasteful as it had been 13 years ago! It makes me think, maybe there are some virtues of your appetite that you can't sway ...

phenomenon

I realized the other day that instead of calling friends I have started to leave them messages on facebook. When I thought about it a little more, I realized that I haven't been paying as much attention to my weblog either. My friends have the mobile facebook application installed so that they get messages on their iphones or cell phones and what not. We contact each other because the status on someone's profile looks worrying. And instead of having my friends over and showing them photos of my trip I post odd ones on facebook and ... it feels more than just a social network, maybe like some sort of new technology that crept into our lives over night ...

my new favorite artist

quickly i'm learning, to love again
all i know is, i'm gonna be okay

thought i couldn't live without you
it's going to hurt when it heals too
it'll all get better in time
even though i really love you
i'm gonna smile because i deserve to
it'll all get better in time

since there's no more you and me
it's time i let you go so i can be free
and live my life how it should be
no matter how hard it is, i will be fine without you

- better in time, Leona Lewis

late laundry

There were clothes in the drier, I was late and I knew that I would get back home around midnight. My landlord locks all the doors including the laundry room every night and opens them 6am next morning. Options were, stay home until the drier is done or leave and hope for the best. I decided to leave her a message and run. I got back and found the clothes folded in the basket I had left on top of the drier. She had also left the door unlocked so I could get in and take the clothes. It just made me warm and fuzzy inside ...

food

The food was on display outside the restaurants especially for places that were designed as lunch places. Lunch breaks were about 30 min so things had too move fast :)

There was also a hierarchy in the restaurants, I was told that I couldn't just walk into any restaurant; it felt like something from the movies. The picture on the right is one of the places I wasn't welcome!

garbage and gaming

Since the streets were so narrow and there were not that many back alleys, this is how they disposed of garbage in the business area. In most places there were even green nets to pull over the garbage. Interestingly they had somehow convinced the cats and birds to stay away.

There seemed to be this wild obsession with gaming, this is a quick shot I took inside on of these gaming shops.

cars and streets

There weren't many personal cars on the streets in Tokyo, most of what I saw were taxis. The streets were very narrow, and they even had narrower cars! The cars were mostly Japanese cars as you'd expect, but there was the occasional BMW or Benz.



By the way, they drove on the left side of the road and stood on the right side on the escalator.




Another interesting thing was the fuel pumps, I guess when you don't have enough land you hang things from the ceiling!

forgotten

"I can feel from the bottom of my heart that you came to Urumqi many many times and spent days and night for the hope to see me, visit me. I am grateful, I am thankful for the hardship you have experienced in cold and hot, snow and rain. I know you are doing it. I know the thin heart of my mother and my children and all of my relatives."

The Globe and Mail published an article on the recently released letter from Huseyin Celil, the Canadian citizen who was arrested (I think) in Ozbakestan and extradited to China 2 years ago. In China, he was convicted of terrorism and sentenced to life in prison.

"Dear mother, Please forgive me if I have done any thing wrong to you in my life. Please forgive me if I even have spoken loudly in front of you."

You can find the full article here and the letter translation here.

Iidabashi - Shinjuku

The first night I arrived in Tokyo, my friends picked me up and we went walking through the Iidabashi - Shinjuku area. This is an older neighbourhood, where apparently no foreigner ever sets foot - they could not believe I did not speak Japanese! It was a good thing that one of my friends was a translator. The area was full of small shops and cafes, just what you would expect of Japan ...

We went into a shop that was owned by a 83 year-old lady, she had started up the business with her husband 60!!! years ago. He had passed since.


I bought many pieces from her shop. Whenever I chose something, she would take a glance at it, go into the back and get another one that was still in its box. She'd show it to me so that I would be sure that it's the same and I had to nod to show my approval. Then she would ask permission to gift wrap it. She did it as if it were a ritual. The gift-wrapping itself was an amazing procedure. The neatness and delicacy with which she worked was amazing. When we were leaving I asked if I could have my picture taken with her. She replied: "but my hair is not made up and I am not dressed!" She was by far the cutest old lady I met on this trip.

earthquake

The first night I arrived in Tokyo there was an earthquake, about 6.3 on the Richter scale at the source. It shook the hotel pretty hard, enough to wake me up in the middle of the night, and those who know me know that that is a big deal! Anyhow, I got up the next morning, called everyone in Canada and Iran and made sure they know I am fine ... fast forward a few days, and the earthquakes in China. The horrible pictures, the devastation and the pain you can see in people's faces. The gut wrenching fact is that most of those killed are children who were at school, 7000 schools fell down when the surrounding buildings almost survived. And now about 5,000,000 people are homeless. It's been about a week, what has been done for them? I can't stop thinking, it was so close, it could have been me!

my journey

Narita airport, Japan

I had a conference in Singapore and I decided to stay in Tokyo for a few days since I was transiting through Narita anyway. There are a few experiences in life that make an impression that will stay with you for ever, this was definitely one of them. I learnt as much about the world and other people as I did about myself. Since the personal experiences are not as easy to bring to words and maybe not even as interesting, in the next little while I want to give you a peak into some of what I learnt about Tokyo and the Japanese and maybe even a little about Singapore.

One thing that I have to establish first is that what made this trip exceptional are the people I met on the way. I will talk about some of them along the way ...

Narita, areal view, Japan

Narita is rather far from Tokyo, about 40 min with train. In between the airport and Tokyo lie many rice farms as you can see in the photo.

Narita rice cultivation

away ...

... i am leaving for a little while, i'll be back with photos :)

transportation in China

You won't believe your eyes!

electricity

This is a link I found very useful. It gives electrical power levels and outlet shapes in most countries; so next time you can know what to expect :))

stupid/intelligent

"The trouble with the world is that the stupid are cocksure and the intelligent are full of doubt."

- Bertrand Russell

insensitive

How do you numb your skin, after the warmest touch
How do you slow your blood, after the body rush
How do you free your soul, after you've found a friend
How do you teach your heart it's time, to fall in love again

Oh you probably won't remember me, it's probably ancient history
I'm one of the chosen few, who went ahead and fell for you
I'm out of vogue, I'm out of touch, I fell too fast, I feel too much
I thought that you might have some advice to give, on how to be, insensitive

- Jann Arden

math and music

Very smart people have always fascinated me, and I have always wondered what they would be like in person. Alia Sabur, a Persian - American is now the youngest university professor according to the Guinness book of records. You can find more information about her on her website.






source: Alia Sabur's website

no revolution

Something inside of me has waited far too long, it's past the turmoil, past the suspense, now there is a cold silence. There was a rush, i could hear my heartbeat over the music in my ears. Piano sooths me you know, i can see the gentle strokes on the keys as i hear the music. But then i was a ghost, i couldn't really see the familiar places i was walking through. i am amazed at how numb i feel towards everything today, this cold calm silence needs to break ... it's just the wrong state of affairs ...

P.S. it's broken, this was a wish granted so soon ...

women's health

two websites you might want to take a look at:

• safer make up
• ovary removal and heightened risk of Parkinson's
  

i'll be back with more information on women's health in a few weeks!

contacts?

Take a look at this!

source: University of Washington Office of News and Information

the risks

"You shouldn't have asked," I said. "Love doesn't ask many questions, because if we stop to think we become fearful. It's an inexplicable fear; it's difficult to even describe it. Maybe it's the fear of being scorned, of not being accepted, or of breaking the spell. It's ridiculous, but that's the way it is. That's why you don't ask - you act. As you've said many times, you have to take risks."

- By the river Piedra i sat down and wept

now

I should cry, what happened to all my tears?

Happy Earth Day!

the living camera

I remember watching him as a child ...

سالگرد

تولد دو سالگی این وبلاگ هم شد. باورم نمی شه دو ساله که اینجا مطلب می نویسم

in fairy tales

In fairy tales, the princesses kiss the frogs, and the frogs become princes. In real life, the princesses kiss princes, and the princes turn into frogs.

- By the river Piedra i sat down and wept

خانه بامداد

یادش شاد

see you again

i got my sight set on you, and i'm ready to aim
i have a heart that, will never be tame
i knew you were something special, when you spoke my name
now i can't wait, to see you again

i've got a way of knowing, when something is right
i feel like i must have known you, in another life
cause i felt this deep connection, when you looked in my eyes
now i can't wait, to see you again

i got this crazy feeling, deep inside
when you called and asked to see me, tomorrow night
i'm not a mind reader, but i can read the signs
that you can't wait, to see me again

- Miley Cyrus